Sunday, November 24, 2013

Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when
he was one hundred and ten years old.

When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers,
another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work
which He had done for Israel.

What arose after
Joshua’s death? A generation arose that knew not God.

Tu. 11/26/13: Judges 2:11 –
12What did the
children do?

Then
the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; and
they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the
land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the
people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they
provoked the Lord to anger.

What did the
children do? They became idol worshippers.

We. 11/27/13: Judges 2:14 –
15What was the
result?

And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He
delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold
them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer
stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was
against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to
them. And they were greatly distressed.

What was the
result? The Lord gave them into the hands of their enemies.

Th. 11/28/13: Judges 2:18 –
19What did their
groaning do?

And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was
with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days
of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those
who oppressed them and harassed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was
dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by
following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease
from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

What did their
groaning do? The Lord pitied them and gave them a Judge as a deliverer.

Fr. 11/29/13: Galatians 1:3
– 5 What about us?

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord
Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this
present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen.

What about us? The Lord Jesus Christ will deliver us
from this evil age.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

And
when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of
Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of
Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—a great, impressive altar.

And
when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the
children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.

What did they build? They built an altar
outside Jerusalem.

Tu. 11/19/13: Joshua 22:16,
20Why was Israel
inflamed?

…
They (a delegation of leaders) spoke
with them, saying, “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord: ‘What treachery is this
that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from
following the Lord, in that you
have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the Lord?

Did
not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath
fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in
his iniquity.’”

“The
Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, He knows, and let
Israel itself know—if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the
Lord, do not save us this day.

What was Reuben and Gad’s answer? If the claim
of rebellion was correct, they were willing to die.

Th. 11/21/13: Josh. 22:23,
26 – 27Why did they build
the altar?

If
we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the Lord, or if to offer on it burnt
offerings or grain offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it, let the Lord Himself require an account.

Therefore
we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt
offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness between
you and us and our generations after us …

Why did they build the altar? They built a
witness for their children, not sacrifice.

Fr. 11/22/13: Joshua 22:33
– 34How did it end?

So
the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed
God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land
where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

The
children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a
witness between us that the Lord is
God.”

Saturday, November 9, 2013

And
(the children of Ephraim) did not
drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the
Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers.

Who did not drive out the enemy? The Ephraimites
willfully did not drive out the Canaanites but enforced them to labor.

Tu. 11/11/13: Joshua 15:63,
17:12 – 13Who could not
drive out the enemy?

As
for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could
not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at
Jerusalem to this day.

Yet
the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those
cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. And it
happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites
to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

Who could not drive out the enemy? The
children of Judah and Manasseh were unable to drive out the Jebusites and the Canaanites.

So
the Lord gave to Israel all the
land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession
of it and dwelt in it. The Lord
gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers.
And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their
hand. Not
a word failed of any good thing which the Lord
had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

Who delivered all enemies into Israel’s hand? The
Lord God.

Th. 11/11/13: Josh. 23:11 –
13What warning did
Israel receive?

Therefore
take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling
to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages
with them, … know for certain that the Lord
your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall
be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes,
until you perish from this good land which the Lord
your God has given you.

What prophetic warning did Israel receive? To love
the Lord their God or their enemies would be thorns in their eyes.

Fr. 11/11/13: Matthew 13:22Do we have a
similar warning?

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word,
and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and
he becomes unfruitful.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Thus
Joshua took all this land: the mountain country, all the South, all the land of
Goshen, the lowland, and the Jordan plain—the mountains of Israel and its
lowlands,from
Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, even as far as Baal Gad in the Valley of
Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings, and struck them down
and killed them.

What are we to capture? Here are areas that
our Lord wants us to capture: our testimonies before family, friends and
neighbors.

Tu. 11/5/13: Joshua 11:18 –
19How long will the
battle last?

Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. There was
not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the
inhabitants of Gibeon. All the others they took in battle.

How long will the battle last? The battle will
neither be short nor life-long.

We. 11/6/13: Joshua 11:20Are we to be
merciful to the enemy?

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they
should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them, and
that they might receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them, as the
Lord had commanded Moses.

Are we to be merciful to the enemy? No, the
Lord wants us to take our inheritance in battle: He fights for us, so victory
is assured.

Th. 11/7/13: Joshua 11:21 –
22Do giants oppose
us?

And
at that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains: from
Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all
the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.None
of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained
only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.

Do giants oppose us? Yes, we have besetting
sins but can destroy them in our territory.

Fr. 11/8/13: Joshua 11:23Can we capture our
inheritance?

So
Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had said to Moses;
and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by
their tribes. Then the land rested from war.

Can we capture our inheritance? Yes, we can, and have
rest from war in our lifetime.

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About Me

I am a recently retired Physics teacher from public High School. I entered retirement soon after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Before retiring, a morning Bible reading and prayer at School for teachers was my mission and one purpose for this blog. I wish more Christian family men would take spiritual leadership at home. Another purpose for this blog is that a Dad would read it to his family after dinner, ask the question/s that follow, and discuss the answer. Since one topic is spread over a week, fifty-two topics will be covered in a year, and would go a long way towards establishing his spiritual headship in the family.
I co-hosted a radio program, “What is your opinion?”. They are available online.
http://www.ifimd.com/radio.html
I'm a co-host for a YouTube Experiments in Physics clips that have a Biblical message. The links are available in the "Favorite movies" section below.